


The Internet Is Dead

by KytheWolf



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Camping, M/M, Survival, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-08 06:18:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13452294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KytheWolf/pseuds/KytheWolf
Summary: All over the world, the zombies have taken over; only a few isolated rural areas survive. When the plague started, Dan and Phil were forced to leave London with nothing. Now, they are barely surviving on whatever they can scavenge, with no electricity, no phones, and no internet. Is this world even worth living in? Will Dan and Phil find a reason to keep fighting?





	1. Run and Hide

Dan prodded the fire with a long stick, sending embers and sparks dancing into the Night sky. He yawned, pulling his sleeveless puffer jacket tighter around his shoulders and glancing around at the trees. Where was Phil? He should have been back with more firewood by now.

Moments later, the bushes behind Dan rustled, and Phil emerged with his arms full of logs.

As the older man crossed the clearing where they had made their camp, Dan stared at him, taking in his appearance: Phil’s black hair was matted with sweat, his once-colourful shirt now dirty and ripped, as were his jeans; the yellow light of the campfire glinted off the wood axe hanging from Phil’s belt, emphasising its sharp blade as Phil pulled it out and began hacking some of the logs into smaller kindling.

Dan stood up and walked over to the abysmally small pile of scavenged belongings, bending over to rummage in one of the bags.

Phil glanced over at Dan as he dumped a load of firewood on a tarp next to the fire.

“Anything to eat?” he asked, sitting down on a blanket.

Dan grunted as he straightened up with his arms full of tins and packets.

“Bread,” he listed, bringing everything over to sit with Phil, “soup, sweetcorn, baked beans…”

“Urgh, sounds delicious,” Phil muttered sarcastically, taking the slice of slightly stale bread Dan offered him and trying for a comforting smile as he tore a bite off.

“We could try heating the soup in the fire,” Dan suggested. “Might help make it a bit more appetizing.”

Phil shrugged, so Dan set the tin of soup in the hot embers and put the unwanted cans back in the bag to have tomorrow.

In the few minutes it took for the soup to warm up, Phil thought back on the last week.

The disease had started in Europe over Christmas, and had been brought across to England by the people returning home from holidays abroad.

Within about four days, those infected were dead, and any contact with their bodies became a death sentence.

Anyone who became infected went insane as their body decayed at an alarming rate, until they were nothing more than a puppet of the plague; a stereotypical zombie with a lust for human flesh.

Dan and Phil had just got back to London when the news had come of the global epidemic, and had rushed out of the city again without even stopping to grab anything. They had hired a car to get out of London as fast as possible, and already victims of the plague were wandering the streets. They had driven on through the night until they were well out into the country, away from cities, only pausing briefly to grab some provisions and tools from an abandoned village before they stopped next to a huge forest, where they ditched the car and proceeded on foot.

They had made their feeble camp deep within the forest where they hoped the zombies wouldn’t be able to find them, but now their food supply was running dangerously low, and as neither of them had any knowledge of, or suitable tools for hunting, soon they would have no choice but to go back to the remains of civilisation and stock up.

They shared their pitiful meal in silence, occasionally making eye contact, listening to the crackling of the fire and the other noises of the Night. When they had finished eating, Phil spoke.

“We’re gonna have to go and find some more food soon.”

Dan nodded, putting the empty soup tin in the sack they used for rubbish and taking inventory of the food they had left. “Yeah, I was thinking that as well,” he muttered. “We’ve only got enough left here for one or two days at most, then we’re in trouble.” Dan came back over to sit with Phil. “I think we should go tomorrow.”

“Same place?” Phil asked. “I noticed there was another convenience shop that we didn’t check.”

Dan nodded in agreement. “Back to the town tomorrow, then, and the day after I think we should explore the forest a bit more. See if there’s anything interesting.”

It was hard, not having the internet to distract them from the real world. The only way to keep away insanity was to keep busy; make plans and follow through with them.

Dan yawned, realising for the first time how tired he was.

“Get some sleep,” Phil grinned. “I’ll keep watch tonight.”

Dan smiled gratefully and lay down, barely managing to mould the blanket into a pillow before he was asleep. Phil sat watching the stress give way to peace in the younger man’s expression, then stood up and wrapped his half of the blanket around Dan in a gentle, protective gesture.

As Phil sat down again he pulled the axe from his belt, eyeing the trees for the threat that could be lurking among them.


	2. The Ghosts Are Here

The Sun had not yet risen when Phil was jolted awake by the sound of birdsong the next morning, but there was a grey light in the air that indicated dawn was not far off. Phil sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked down at Dan, who was still asleep. Phil smiled, then stood up and stretched, wincing as he felt his back click. He glanced around for his axe, which had fallen a few feet away when he had dropped off to sleep.

As he picked it up and replaced it in his belt, Phil heard Dan stir. He glanced over to see the younger man roll onto his back and yawn, keeping his eyes closed. Phil moved so that he was standing directly above Dan’s head and crouched down so that their faces were barely a foot apart.

Dan, sensing movement, opened his eyes a slit, just enough to get a blurry impression of the older man’s face.

“Fuck off,” he muttered sleepily, rolling over and covering his face with his arm to hide his smile. Phil grinned.

“Come on, get up.” He nudged Dan gently with his foot. “We’ve got plans for today, remember?”

“Ugh.” Dan reluctantly twisted onto his hands and knees, getting unsteadily to his feet; Phil had definitely adjusted to the early mornings better than him, which was somewhat surprising as for the first few days without access to coffee first thing, Phil had practically been one of the zombies they were hiding from.

Dan’s hair was messy and sticking up in all directions, and Phil fought off a brief urge to run his fingers through it.

They shared the last of the bread as the Sun rose, and by the time it was fully above the horizon the two men had set off into the forest, back in what they hoped was the direction of their car.

As they wandered between the trees, Dan and Phil walked closely together so that their arms brushed against each other every few steps. They didn’t talk, but they didn’t need to; the silence was enough, only punctuated occasionally with a yawn or curse as Phil tripped over a tree root.

It took them roughly an hour to reach the edge of the forest, though they had no way of measuring time accurately. They walked past where they had left the car and continued on foot down the faint dirt track that led to the abandoned village.

When they reached it, the town was much as they’d left it; dusty and colourless, if a bit more overgrown. Phil moved in front of Dan and led him towards the convenience shop he’d seen before. After a moment, he realised Dan had stopped walking, and he turned around to see why.

Dan was looking around at the deserted buildings with nervous eyes, his arms wrapped across his chest like he was cold, although the day was warm and sunny. Phil dropped back to stand next to him.

“You ok?”

Dan nodded hesitantly. “Yeah,” he muttered. “It’s just… weird. Being the only living things in a ghost town.” Dan’s eyes flitted back to the windows of the buildings either side. “I think they’re still here,” he whispered.

Phil wrapped his arms around Dan, pulling the younger man into a protective hug. Dan tensed for a moment at the unexpected contact, then relaxed against Phil’s body, pulling his own arms out to hug Phil back.

“Even if they are, they won’t hurt you,” Phil murmured. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Dan smiled at Phil as they pulled apart, and Phil returned it comfortingly.

“Come on.” Phil held out his hand to the younger man, and after a moment Dan took it, grinning in a slightly embarrassed way. Phil led him to the shop and tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he went inside.

The shop interior was dark, but through the gloom Phil could see that the shelves of food were still stocked. Letting go of Dan’s hand, Phil crossed over to the refrigerator aisle. The shelves were dark and silent, but still cool to the touch; the power couldn’t have been out for more than a day at most. Phil started grabbing food and piling it in his arms.

“Hey, Phil.”

Phil turned to see what Dan had found, looking towards the sound of his voice over the top of the shelves. He saw Dan come out of a back room with a handful of reusable shopping bags, a couple of them insulated.

“Perfect,” Phil grunted, walking over and dumping his armful of food in the bag Dan was holding open.

They walked through the aisles, grabbing food off the shelves: tins, bread, cereal, packets of pasta and biscuits; anything that wouldn’t go off in a hurry. Dan even found several packets of marshmallows, and put them in his bag without telling Phil: he knew the older man would just eat them all.

Suddenly, Dan heard a scuffling noise. He straightened up and looked around; Phil, a couple of rows over, didn’t seem to have heard anything. Dan bent over again, but almost instantly stood back up as he heard the sound again; it was coming from over his head.

“Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m just gonna check upstairs, ok?”

“Yep. I’ll keep working.”

Dan put down his bag and went back outside. Opening the unlocked door marked with the flat number, Dan entered the dusty hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will Dan find in the flat? Find out in Chapter 3. I will try to upload every 5 days or so, but bear with if I don't stick exactly to this schedule.  
> Thank you to everyone who has taken time to read this, it means a lot to me! <3


	3. Found Me in the Dark

The stairs creaked as Dan put his weight on them, listening carefully for any noises. The door at the top was unlocked, and Dan pushed it open cautiously and stuck his head into the apartment.

It was completely trashed: torn pages from magazines, books and newspapers littered the floor, some appearing to have been soiled; the kitchenette on one side of the room had all the cupboards at ground height opened, their contents spilling out onto the floor; in the living room area, the sofas leaked stuffing and the lamps and TV had been knocked to the floor and broken.

“Hello?” Dan called quietly, stepping over the mess and fully into the apartment.

The skittering noise came again, louder now; the unmistakable sound of claws on linoleum. Dan followed the noise into the bedroom, where it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. A faint, irregular whining sound issued from the back of the room, on the other side of the unmade bed. Dan stepped cautiously over the mess of ripped pillows on the floor and leant around the corner of the bed.

On a pile of torn and dirty blankets lay a young puppy with short, golden-brown fur and pointed ears. There was an open wound on the dog’s back, and even in the dark of the bedroom, Dan could see the poor creature’s ribs and hip bones jutting out as though trying to escape from him.

“Hello,” Dan murmured, slowly reaching his hand towards the frightened animal. The dog flinched away for a moment, and then leaned his head forwards to sniff Dan’s hand. Dan stayed very still as the puppy investigated his hand, trying not to scare him.

The dog, apparently deciding that Dan was trustworthy, licked his hand. Dan smiled and shuffled closer so that he could reach to stroke the dog’s soft ears. The puppy pushed his head into Dan’s hand, clearly enjoying the attention.

_Poor thing_ , Dan thought. _I wonder how long it’s been since he last got any love_.

“Dan?”

The dog’s ears pricked up. Phil’s muffled voice came from the direction of the apartment door; the older man had come to see where Dan had got to.

“Yeah, I’m in the bedroom,” Dan called quietly. “Come slowly.”

Dan heard Phil’s cautious footsteps coming towards the bedroom. A moment later Phil stuck his head around the door to see the younger man sitting on the floor on the far side of the bed.

“What is it?” Phil asked quietly.

Dan beckoned him over silently, keeping his eyes on the whatever-it-was he wanted Phil to see.

Phil came around the corner of the bed, letting out a muffled gasp when he saw the dog.

“Aww,” he murmured, kneeling next to Dan and reaching his hand towards the puppy. As with Dan, the dog sniffed Phil’s hand hesitantly, then gave it a lick of approval.

“What are we gonna do with him?” Phil murmured, caressing the dog’s ears.

“Well, we’re not just gonna leave him here, are we?” Dan muttered sarcastically.

Phil rolled his eyes, and then glanced from Dan to the puppy. “He looks a bit like Nuki, don’t you think?”

Dan smiled, tilting his head so that it almost rested on Phil’s shoulder. “Yeah, I was thinking that as well,” he murmured, remembering their Sim’s dog from so long ago.

As they were talking, the puppy stood unsteadily in his blanket nest and tottered forward. Dan looked down as the dog sat down just in front of his crossed legs.

“What d’you think, Nuki? Wanna come back with us?”

Nuki stood up, his tail wagging, and climbed into Dan’s lap, curling around to get comfortable.

Phil grinned. “I think he’s coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading!  
> Chapter 4 due Monday!


	4. Follow Me to Freedom

Dan carried Nuki back into the shop wrapped in one of the blankets from the bedroom. They had found a first aid kit in one of the apartment’s kitchen cupboards, and used some of its supplies to clean up the wound on the puppy’s back; Dan thought it had been caused by a falling saucepan from Nuki’s exploration of the cupboards in what they assumed was a desperate search for food. Accordingly, they had also fed him from a bag of dog food Phil had found in the larder. The puppy had scoffed it down, barely pausing to breathe, and then inhaled the bowl of water Dan had put out for him.

Now they were back in the shop, packing the last of the food into the bags. Phil had also filled a bag with most of the shop’s stock of dog food, along with a leash, collar and a couple of toys.

A few doors down, they had discovered a camping supplies store, and had raided the shelves for matches, water carriers, a collapsible kettle, plastic crockery, penknives, a simple two-man tent, sleeping bags, and, among other things, a couple of full-size hiking rucksacks. The shop also had a clothing section, and they had each taken a couple of shirts and pairs of hiking trousers, along with clean socks and hiking boots. From a display cabinet behind the checkout, Dan had taken a large hunting knife and sheath, and as he fastened it around his waist Phil asked, “Do you really need that? It’s not like we’re gonna be doing any hunting.”

“Yeah, but the zombies are,” Dan answered. “I’ll need something to defend myself with if they do find us.”

At last they left the village, hot and sweaty but feeling significantly better prepared, the food and other supplies packed into the rucksacks on their backs, and Nuki dancing around excitedly on the end of his new leash.

As they wandered back through the forest, Dan and Phil occupied the time with talk about their new puppy.

“Aww, look how cute he is!” Phil squealed as Nuki tripped over his too-big paws and bounced back up again, looking up at them eagerly. Dan grinned.

“I know.”

When they were about twenty minutes in, Dan asked, “Shall I let him off the lead?”

“No!” Phil exclaimed. “What if he runs off and gets lost or hurt?”

“I don’t think he will,” Dan argued, watching the puppy’s adorably clumsy feet. “I’m gonna let him off.”

“Dan!”

Dan bent down and unclipped the lead. Nuki looked up at him, confused for a moment, and then scampered off down the path. Phil started after him, but Dan pulled him back.

“Let him have some freedom."

Phil looked back in the direction Nuki had gone, then smiled and took Dan’s hand. Dan glanced down at their linked hands, a slightly startled expression on his face. After a moment, he met Phil’s eyes and smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone thanks for reading again! Special thanks to [philscurls](http://archiveofourown.org/users/philscurls/works) who gave me a promo on Tumblr! If you haven't already, go check her out, she's an amazing writer!  
> Next update due Friday.


	5. Puppy Love

A few minutes down the path, Nuki came rushing back, barking excitedly and bouncing up at them.

“I told you he’d come back,” Dan said, bending down to pick the puppy up and nuzzle him.

“You were right,” Phil agreed, looking enviously at Nuki in Dan’s arms. Dan, seeing Phil’s expression, grinned and passed the puppy over to the older man. Phil laughed as Nuki licked his nose, and Nuki, encouraged by his reaction, squirmed up Phil’s chest to be able to reach more of his face. Dan started chuckling as well, and soon all three of them were so weak from laughing they collapsed on the ground, Nuki in Phil’s arms and Dan’s around them both.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until the laughing wore off. Eventually they calmed down, and, realising what they were doing, stood up hurriedly although still grinning.

Phil set Nuki back on the ground and the puppy trotted along next to them as they walked back to their camp.

The Sun had turned the sky blood red by the time they got back. Dan picked Nuki up and held him in his arms as Phil relit the fire, sitting close so that Nuki could get used to it. The puppy leaned forward to sniff the flames, but recoiled when the heat licked his nose and hid his face in Dan’s shirt.

“Aww, Nuki, c’mon boy,” Phil called, sitting down cross-legged a couple of feet away from Dan and holding his arms out to the puppy.

Nuki peeked his head out over Dan’s arms, then yipped playfully and scampered across to Phil, climbing over his legs and tumbling into his lap. Phil bent down and nuzzled the puppy, grinning as he buried his face in Nuki’s fur. Dan smiled at the cute scene, taking a mental picture and turning to rummage in one of the rucksacks.

“What d’you fancy for dinner?” he asked Phil, pulling food out and spreading it on the ground in front of him.

“We should probably eat the fridge stuff first,” Phil said, struggling to hold Nuki back from the food. “No Nuki. You’ll get yours in a bit.”

Nuki looked up at him, tiny tail wagging, and licked the man’s chin and neck. Phil giggled, watching Dan with a strange expression in his eyes. Dan looked back at the neatly laid out food, scanning it for possible combinations.

“Ham sandwiches?” he suggested.

“Perfect.”

As Dan put away the unused food and prepared their dinner, Phil gave Nuki his in one of the plastic bowls they had taken from the camping shop. The puppy wolfed it down in moments, then came to watch Dan and Phil eat, his best puppy-dog eyes firmly in place.

Phil glanced at him as he raised his sandwich to his mouth. Nuki’s eyes bored into his soul like a drill of cuteness. Phil looked at Dan, a pitiful whining noise in his throat.

“No, Nuki,” Dan commanded without looking at either the puppy or Phil. “Don’t give him anything while we’re eating,” he told the latter, keeping his gaze firmly on the flickering fire. “If he’s good, you can give him a bit of ham when we’re finished.”

Phil cast a brief glance at the puppy, then turned away and continued eating his sandwich.

Nuki’s tail slowed, and he placed a paw on Phil’s knee to remind him that he was still there. Phil looked at Dan but didn’t say anything and Dan grinned, watching the puppy out of the corner of his eye.

When they had finished eating, Dan reached over and grabbed the ham out of the cold bag. Nuki’s eyes were fixed on the food as he pulled out a slice and handed it to Phil.

“You can give him that now,” Dan told Phil, “as a reward for being good.”

Phil tore a piece from the ham and held it over Nuki’s head.

“Nuki, sit.”

The puppy glanced up at the food, down at Phil, then back up at the ham. Phil raised it a bit higher and Nuki sat down.

“Good boy!” Phil praised, giving him the ham.

Nuki swallowed it down, tail wagging, and yapped, climbing into Phil’s lap to try and reach the rest of the ham. Phil gave it to him, laughing, and once it was gone, Nuki left Phil and went to have cuddles with Dan.

After a minute sitting in comfortable silence, Phil said, “We should probably put the tent up now, while we’re still awake.”

Dan nodded, putting Nuki on the ground. He stood up and stretched, then went to retrieve the tent.

They spent about an hour struggling with poles and canvas and instructions while Nuki climbed on their feet and the tent, and generally tried to help in the most unhelpful way possible.

Eventually they managed to get it to stay upright, and all three of them crawled inside with their sleeping bags and blankets. Dan and Phil settled themselves on either side, with Nuki’s blanket nest in between them. In the light from the fire filtering through the thin material, they lay looking into each other’s eyes.

Dan smiled at Phil, and then laughed as Nuki appeared in his line of sight and started plastering licks all over his face. Phil giggled as he sat up and pulled the puppy away from Dan, setting the wriggling bundle on his blanket and lying down again, his hand resting on Nuki’s side as the puppy curled up and went to sleep.

Dan reached down to stroke Nuki too, smiling as his fingers touched Phil’s. Phil grinned back, and they fell asleep with their hands joined protectively around their new puppy.


	6. Up Shit's Creek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some domestic Phan for Valentine's Day  
> I love you all, thank you so much for all the support you've given this fic! <3

Dan woke up with a faceful of fur. He lifted his head, confused, and focused his eyes on Nuki, lying right next to him. Dan looked down and smiled when he saw that his hand was still curled around Phil’s.

The older man was still asleep, his expression peaceful. Dan hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward and gently kissed Phil’s forehead. His movement woke Nuki, and the puppy followed him out of the tent.

As Dan unzipped the entrance and crawled out, he didn’t see Phil open his eyes and smile before going back to sleep.

Dan stood up and stretched, blinking in the bright Sunlight. Nuki jumped up at his leg, whining, and Dan bent down to pick the puppy up.

“Morning, Nuki,” Dan yawned. “Sleep alright?”

Nuki yapped and licked his face.

“Good. You hungry?”

More yapping, so Dan retrieved the puppy’s bowl and filled it with kibble, adding a few pieces of ham as a treat.

As he set it in front of Nuki, Phil emerged from the tent, yawning and stretching. Dan grinned. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Phil groaned tiredly, smiling to himself as he walked over to the bags of food. “Anything for breakfast?”

Dan shrugged. Phil rummaged through one of the bags until he found a box of Shreddies, then went over and sat down by the dead fire to eat. Dan raised his eyebrows.

“So you got yourself sorted, then?”

Phil shrugged indignantly. “I’m hungry!”

Dan rolled his eyes sarcastically, and then crossed over to join Phil.

When the box was half empty, they decided to stop. Nuki had finished his before they’d even started, and had been sitting in front of them wearing his biggest puppy-dog eyes, for which he had been rewarded with the occasional Shreddie tossed up in the air for him to catch.

Dan put the box away, and then the three of them set off to explore the forest.

They had decided to leave Nuki off the lead, because the puppy clearly hadn’t had much freedom in his short life, and neither of them had the willpower to restrain him. Therefore, Nuki scampered ahead, sniffing trees and rummaging through the undergrowth, while Dan and Phil walked behind him at their own pace.

There was no path to follow, so they just wandered along at random, although doing their best to keep track of the way back to their camp. As they walked, the Sun shone down brightly through the leaves, and after a while they began to hear a rushing sound, which they followed towards a river.

“This is good, if it’s drinkable,” Phil said, “because those bottles from the shop won’t last very long.”

They wound their way upstream, eventually coming to the beginning of the river: an overgrown cliff face, from which a waterfall flowed into a narrow crevice, then merged into a small lake before becoming the river.

Dan approached the bank and planted his foot on a rock, like an explorer who had just discovered a new country.

“I vote we call this place Shit’s Creek,” he said in a loud commanding voice, “in honour of our shitty situation, and common household idioms.”

“You can’t call it Shit’s Creek,” Phil laughed, shoving Dan playfully so that he fell off the rock.

“I just did,” Dan grinned, pushing Phil back.

Suddenly, they heard a splash, and they both whirled around to see Nuki paddling in the lake. Phil started forward in a panic, but Dan pulled him back.

“He’s fine, dogs can swim instinctively.”

They stood watching the puppy for a minute, and then Phil said, “I could do with a wash.”

“Me too,” Dan agreed, picking at his sweaty shirt and muddy jeans. He began taking off his jacket and shoes, and after a moment Phil followed suit.

Once they had both stripped off except their underpants, they moved around to the beach and waded into the lake, Dan in front.

“Holy fucking Jesus on a boat!” Dan screamed as the water came up past his ankles.

“Is it cold?” Phil asked.

Dan looked back at him with his iconic ‘unimpressed with Phil’s shit’ face firmly in place. “No, it’s perfectly warm, I just felt like screaming,” he said sarcastically. “Of course it’s fucking freezing! We live in England!”

Dan grabbed Phil’s hand and pulled him into the water. Phil squealed and tried to get out again, but Dan held on as he waded deeper into the lake.

“Dan!” Phil screamed, grinning despite himself.

Dan let go when they were standing waist deep, and Nuki swam up to them, yapping, his propeller tail splashing them with water. Dan laughed and splashed Phil, and Phil splashed him back, and soon all three of them were swimming and playing in the water.

Eventually, Nuki got tired from swimming, and Phil carried him back to the bank where they had left their clothes. While Phil got out and occupied the puppy with a stick, Dan stood next to the bank and washed their clothes, dunking them in the water and cleaning the mud and sweat off them as best he could, then spreading them on the rocks to dry in the Sun.

When he had finished, Dan hauled himself out and lay on the rocks, soaking in the Sunlight. Nuki, seeing one of the humans at his level, abandoned his game with Phil and bounded over to Dan, licking his face and climbing over him. Dan laughed, struggling to sit up under the weight of wriggling cuteness, and Phil came over to help, also laughing.

When they had all calmed down, they stayed sitting on the bank, waiting for their clothes to dry and rubbing Nuki’s belly. Dan looked into Phil’s eyes and smiled, and Phil grinned back, reaching out to take Dan’s hand, happy to be together.


	7. Can We Be Us Forever

Once their clothes had dried, they got dressed and started wandering back to their camp. It took them a few attempts to remember the way, and by the time they got there the Sun was starting to set. Dan relit the fire, and Phil prepared their dinners: ham sandwiches (again) for him and Dan, and kibble for Nuki.

They ate their food in silence, and once he and Phil had finished, Dan got up and retrieved the marshmallows and biscuits from one of the bags, along with some metal skewers they had taken from the camping shop.

As he sat down again, Nuki came to see what he was holding, which attracted Phil’s attention.

“What’re you hiding, Dan?” he asked suspiciously, looking over at the younger man. As Dan revealed the marshmallows, Phil gasped.

“You didn’t tell me you’d found marshmallows!” he whined, holding his hands out for the bag.

Dan moved it out of his reach. “That’s because I knew you’d just eat them all!”

Phil dropped his arms, a mock-sad expression on his face. “I s’pose.”

Dan grinned, tearing open the packet and handing the older man a skewer. Phil stabbed a marshmallow and held it by the hot embers, turning it slowly so as to not burn it. Dan stabbed one for himself and held it next to Phil’s, and the two of them sat in silence as their marshmallows cooked and Nuki gnawed on a piece of kindling.

Inevitably, Phil dropped his marshmallow in the flames, and Dan gave the older man his one while he prepared another for himself. Phil grabbed a couple of biscuits and sandwiched the marshmallow between them, getting crumbs stuck all over his chin as he took a bite. As Dan bit into his own s’more, he tried to resist brushing them off.

After two or three more, Dan had had enough, and he sat back and watched Phil cook his fifth marshmallow. Without thinking, he started humming, and then singing quietly.

“The internet is here, the internet is great,” he murmured.

“When you’ve got lots of followers, who needs a real mate,” Phil joined in, his voice slightly muffled due to the fact that his mouth was full of s’more.

Dan grinned. “It might be antisocial,” they both sang, “but these days that is fine, ‘cause life is so much better when you spend it all online!

“A place where you can be yourself, no matter if you’re geeky!”

“Find friends that share your hobbies, even if they’re freaky!"

“Where any question in your head is answered in an instant!”

“Who cares if you procrastinate your one shot at existence?”

As they launched into the second chorus, they were both startled by a whining sound behind them: Nuki had decided to join in, howling his wobbling puppy howl with all his heart. Dan and Phil looked at each other, grinning and laughing, and continued their duet with accompaniment.

“… ‘Cause life is so much better! Life is so much better! Life is so much better when you spend – it – all – online!”

The song finished with a long note from Nuki, who then collapsed into Dan’s lap and promptly fell asleep, much to their amusement. Dan subtly wiped the tears from his eyes, and, still laughing, said, “I’m surprised we could still remember the lyrics.”

Phil nodded, reaching out to gently stroke the sleeping puppy. “Me too.”

They looked at each other for a moment, and then Dan silently reached over and gently brushed the s’mores crumbs off Phil’s chin. Phil grinned fondly, but Dan looked back into the fire, suddenly sad.

“Except it’s not,” he murmured.

Phil frowned. “Not what?”

“Not here,” Dan muttered, absently picking at the grass. “The internet. It’s not here. It’s gone.” Dan turned to look straight at Phil; in the firelight, the younger man’s eyes appeared as black as the shadows in the trees on all sides. “The internet is dead,” Dan continued, “so what does that make us?”

Phil shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around the younger man. Dan relaxed against him, keeping his eyes on the fire.

“It doesn’t matter what that makes us,” Phil whispered. “It doesn’t matter that the names ‘danisnotonfire’ and ‘AmazingPhil’ mean nothing anymore. All that matters is that the real us, Dan Howell and Phil Lester, still mean something. We are still alive, and more importantly we’re still together.”

Phil was silent for a moment, and then he smiled when he heard Dan’s breathing slow, evening out to match Nuki’s as he fell asleep in the safety of Phil’s embrace.

*

After about fifteen minutes, Phil’s leg started to go numb where Dan was leaning on it, and he gently lowered the younger man to the ground so that he could stand up and shake off the pins and needles. Phil was trying to think how to move Dan into the tent, but it turned out he didn’t need to; his movement had woken the younger man, and Dan just about managed to crawl into the tent by himself before he collapsed again.

Phil laid the sleeping Nuki next to him and zipped up his sleeping bag for him before climbing into his own.

Dan opened his eyes and smiled sleepily, extricating a hand from his sleeping bag and reaching towards Phil. Phil took it, returning the smile fondly.

As Dan’s eyes started to close again, the younger man managed to say one last sentence:

“I love you, Phil.”

Phil grinned, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

“I love you, too, Dan.”


	8. Domestic Wilderness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You lot aren't even ready for this fluff.

The leaves on the trees waved gently in the breeze, dancing across the rays of morning Sunlight that were shining down to the forest floor. The bushes rustled, disturbing a flock of woodpigeons and sending them spiralling frantically into the sky as the dog burst out and leaped after them. He knew he would never catch them, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

Once the novelty of chasing birds wore off, Nuki stood panting in a spotlight of Sun. He looked nothing like the thin, starving puppy Dan and Phil had rescued a few weeks ago; he had filled out nicely to hide the bones, and he had the joyful glint in his eyes that comes from being loved.

As Nuki lowered his nose to the ground again, the undergrowth behind him shook and parted to reveal a dishevelled-looking Phil laden with a full water carrier in each hand.

Over the weeks, both men had built up a surprising amount of muscle from carrying around logs and water and learning to use their axe and knife as weapons. They had started sparring against trees, before Dan had the idea to build a dummy by stuffing one of their old shirts with leaves and hanging it up on a couple of long sticks tied in a cross.

When Phil and Nuki returned to the camp with the water, Dan was sitting by the fire with his back to them, skinning a rabbit. The food they had taken from the town had only lasted about a week and a half, but even before they ran out they had been trying to find more of their sustenance from the forest. They mostly lived off rabbits and the occasional fowl, which they caught by setting traps with wire; sometimes Nuki caught one while out on his guard dog rounds. Phil mostly left Dan to deal with them as the younger man had a tougher stomach against gore, although it had taken Dan several attempts to work out the most effective way to butcher them.

Phil carefully set the water carriers next to the pile of bags under a tarp propped on sticks and crept up behind the younger man as quietly as he could. Nuki trotted over to sit next to Dan and began gnawing on a piece of log, and Dan grinned to himself as he heard leaves shifting behind him; under different circumstances, he might have thought Phil was a zombie, but the fact that Nuki was calmly sitting next to him rather than barking and going crazy told him that it was the older man.

“Rah!” Phil grabbed Dan by the shoulders, shaking him slightly.

“Aah,” Dan yelled sarcastically, not looking around. Phil crouched down and put his arms around Dan’s chest, resting his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

Boyfriend. After that night with the s’mores when they had first said ‘I love you’, Dan and Phil had come to an unspoken agreement to refer to each other as ‘boyfriend’. Phil had expected Dan to have ‘forgotten’ (whether in air quotes or not) about it the next morning, but on the contrary the first thing Dan had done upon waking up was kiss him, making it clear that he both remembered and had meant it.

It was quite ironic that they had finally become official, after all the fan theories, and now there were no fans to share it with.

“Did I scare you?” Phil asked playfully.

Dan continued hacking carefully at the rabbit. “Yes, I was terrified, couldn’t you tell?”

“Dan…” Phil whined, dragging out the vowel.

They were silent for a minute, then Phil’s legs started to cramp and he stood up, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek. “D’you want a drink?”

“Yes please,” Dan replied. As Phil handed him a bottle topped up from one of the water carriers, he added, “I’m nearly done with this rabbit; I was thinking of going down to Shit’s Creek for a bath.”

“I just came from there,” Phil complained, taking a gulp from his own water.

“I know, but I haven’t had a full wash in about four days, and tbh we both stink.” He prodded Phil playfully in the stomach and went back to the rabbit.

“Yeah, alright then.” Phil sat down next to Nuki and watched as Dan removed the last of the hide from the rabbit, then stood up and placed the headless carcass in an insulated bag and zipped it shut to keep the flies off. Then the two men and their dog set off to the lake.

When they got there, the Sun was high in the sky, glinting blindingly off the surface of the water. Dan and Phil stripped off (except for their underwear) and laid their clothes out on the bank before getting in. The cold of the water was still a shock, but after living outdoors for the last few weeks they had both built up a certain amount of tolerance to the elements.

Dan ducked completely under the water for a couple of seconds to get his hair wet, then stood up again, shaking his head like a dog and rubbing the water out of his eyes. Phil copied him, and then they swam around for a bit, washing themselves as they went. At one point, Phil was cleaning his arms, and then when he turned around Dan was nowhere to be seen; only Nuki paddling around several metres away.

“Dan?” Phil called, scanning the lake. A few heartbeats passed. Suddenly, Dan leaped out of the water right next to him with a yell, making Phil jump and knocking him off his feet so that both men fell into the lake. When they surfaced a moment later, Dan was laughing and Phil had his hands over his face, rubbing the water out of his eyes and nose.

“Don’t do that, Dan,” Phil whined, panting and coughing. “You know I don’t like it.”

“Come on, it was funny,” Dan grinned, stroking Nuki as the puppy swam over to see what was happening. Phil turned away with mock-upset, and Dan smiled apologetically. “Aww, I’m sorry.” He wrapped his arms around the older man from behind and hugged him, pressing his body against Phil’s. “Are you mad at me?” he asked, child-like.

Phil sighed. “No…” He turned around in Dan’s arms and gave his boyfriend a lingering kiss on the lips, holding him close. They stayed like that for a minute, and then they were interrupted by Nuki trying to nose his way between them. Phil laughed, picking the puppy out of the water and nuzzling him.

Dan smiled fondly. “C’mon,” he murmured, holding his hand out to Phil, “we should probably get out soon; otherwise we’ll both look like prunes.”

Phil grinned, taking Dan’s hand with his free one and following his boyfriend back to the bank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially finished writing the whole fic; 10 chapters plus an epilogue. It gets pretty intense at the end, but I'm really proud of it and I'm sure you'll all enjoy it!


	9. You're the Sun Through My Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit's about to get real.

They made idle conversation as they got dressed, and then they walked back to their camp with their hands linked, Nuki running on ahead like always. Soon the Sun was hidden by a bank of dark clouds, and Dan glanced up worriedly.

As they returned, the clouds gave way and the rain began to fall, slowly at first before quickly becoming torrential. Phil grabbed Nuki and ran for the tent, while Dan rushed to make sure the firewood was covered before joining them.

As soon as he had zipped the door closed behind him, Nuki bounded over and shook his wet fur in his face, and Phil handed him an old shirt to use as a towel. Once Dan had dried himself off as best he could, the two men sat in silence, listening to the rain pounding the canvas of the tent and absently stroking Nuki. After a little while, the puppy fell asleep, and Dan and Phil followed his example, lying down on their sleeping bags and looking into each other’s eyes.

Dan shuffled closer so that their bodies were pressed together, and Phil put his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders, breathing in Dan’s smell of wood smoke and earth. Dan reached up and planted a kiss on Phil’s jaw, and Phil smiled, nuzzling his face into Dan’s hair.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning cast harsh shadows on the side of the tent. A moment later, thunder rumbled in the distance and woke Nuki, who promptly climbed over Dan and wormed his way into the gap between the two men, whimpering in fear. Dan and Phil shifted apart slightly so that there was room for him, their hands brushing as they both reached down to stroke him reassuringly. The puppy soon calmed down and moved to settle on Dan’s sleeping bag, and when the next thunderclap sounded Nuki was asleep again, this time undisturbed.

They lay there in peaceful silence, listening to the storm and occasionally sharing a kiss or a gentle touch. They smiled at each other; a look so full of love that it seemed as though nothing existed outside the tent. Phil reached up to softly run his fingers through Dan’s curls, unable to repress a grin as the younger man leaned into his hand.

“I love you so much,” Phil whispered. Dan’s eyes were so deep and beautiful that Phil could spend hours getting lost in them, for once glad to have found a maze he couldn’t get out of.

Dan smiled. “I love you too,” he murmured, touching Phil’s hand with his own and tracing tiny circles on the older man’s wrist. “I can’t believe it took us so long to say it out loud.”

“I know. Our fans tried to tell us…” Phil smiled at the memory. “All those theories and fanfictions and everything else...”

“We knew it was happening,” Dan continued, “but we never acknowledged it. Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we were scared?” Phil let out a breathy laugh. “Actually, I was definitely scared.”

“Of me?” Dan asked playfully, gently prodding his boyfriend in the stomach. Phil grinned.

“No, of course not. Of the way you’d react, maybe, but not of _you_.” Phil sighed. “No, I was mainly scared of my own feelings, not knowing how to express them or what would happen if I did…”

Dan placed a soft kiss on the older man’s lips, cutting him off. When he pulled away slightly a few moments later, he whispered, “You don’t need to be scared anymore.”

Their lips connected again and their bodies pressed together, fitting like puzzle pieces. Dan reached up to put his hands on Phil’s chest, and Phil wrapped his own around Dan’s waist, a bubble of warmth in the cold world.

After several minutes of making out, Phil pulled away, making Dan moan complainingly.

“Shh,” Phil whispered. “Listen.”

The two men were silent for a moment. Dan frowned. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly.” Phil sat up. “The storm’s over.” He crawled to the entrance of the tent and unzipped it before climbing out. Dan stayed where he was, then Phil stuck his head through the door, grinning.

“You’ve got to see this.”

Dan crawled over and took Phil’s hand to help him stand up. As he did so, he was blinded by Sunlight and forced to bring a hand up to shield his eyes. Once he had got used to the brightness after the gloom of the tent, he could see what Phil meant.

The setting Sun shone between the trees in amazing shades of yellow and red, the light fractured by droplets of rain hanging like crystals from the branches, which fell to land on the forest floor with a magical pattering. Dan gasped.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Phil agreed.

Dan turned to look at his boyfriend. Phil had a gentle smile on his face, and his deep blue eyes were fixed on Dan’s face. Dan grinned back, and reached forward to stroke Phil’s cheek.

At that moment, Nuki burst out of the tent, barking frantically and jumping up at them before running into the trees behind the tent.

“What’s got him worked up?” Phil asked, but Dan’s eyes were locked on something moving in the undergrowth.

“Uh… Phil…” He stuttered as the groaning reached his ears. Phil turned to look at him, eyes wide.

“No,” he whispered. “Not now. Oh my god, please not now…”

As the Sunlight fell on the approaching figures, Dan grabbed Phil’s hand, tugging him in the opposite direction.

“Run!” he yelled.

“What about Nuki?” Phil protested. Dan pulled harder.

“No time! We have to go _now_!”

With one last look back in the direction of their puppy, Phil stopped resisting, and the two men ran for their lives just as the zombies reached the clearing.


	10. Stay With Me

Trees slashed past, drawing blood on Dan’s arms, but he kept running. He could hear Phil’s feet pounding the forest floor just behind him, and he took comfort from the knowledge that his boyfriend was still close.

They had been running for about twenty minutes, on and off, but never able to stop for long. The incessant groans of the zombies were all around them now, getting louder no matter which way they ran. Dan could hear Phil wheezing behind him, and feel the pain in his own screaming lungs.

A moment later they burst from the trees into a large clearing, bordered on three sides by forest and on the fourth by a twenty-foot cliff. At the base of the cliff stood a huge, flat-topped boulder overhung by a gnarled dead tree.

Dan turned to run to the right, but already the undead were shambling from the trees. He twisted the other way, but found that blocked as well: they were surrounded.

Dan grabbed Phil’s hand and dragged him over to the boulder.

“Climb!” he panted, lacing his fingers together to make a step.

“What about you?” Phil asked, his breathing fast and shallow.

“I’ll follow you! Go!”

Phil placed his foot on Dan’s improvised step and hauled himself on top of the boulder. Dan glanced over his shoulder; the zombies were approaching like a deadly tide, slowly but steadily.

“Dan! Come on!” Phil was leaning over the edge of the boulder, his hand outstretched. Dan jumped, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand and scrabbling for a foothold on the smooth surface of the stone.

Seconds later, the two men stood atop the rock, their backs pressed together, an island of life in the sea of dead.

Dan reached for his knife, then swore as he realised that both it and Phil’s axe had been left back at the camp in the rush to leave; all that training had been for nothing. He cast a glance up the cliff, assessing it for possible routes to safety.

“I’ll hold them off,” he muttered to Phil, picking up a fallen branch, gripping it so hard to mask his shaking hands that his knuckles were white. “That should give you time to get up the cliff.”

“Are you crazy?!” Phil shouted, grabbing Dan’s hand. “You’ll die!”

“ _You_ might not! Go!” Dan wrenched his hand from Phil’s grip and hit out at the first wave of zombies as they began clawing at the boulder.

“They’ll kill you.” Phil’s voice shook.

Dan turned to his boyfriend, his eyes watering. “You can live! Leave me, and get your sorry arse up the fucking cliff, _now_!”

“No!” Phil choked, tears streaming down his face. “I don’t want to live without you!”

Dan’s tough outer shell shattered and he broke down in sobs.

“You really mean that?” he murmured, the branch falling limply by his side.

“Of course,” Phil whispered, taking Dan’s free hand.

Dan looked around at the ravenous hoard closing in on all sides, then down at his hands, and finally into Phil’s amazing sky-blue eyes.

“Together?”

“Forever.”

The two men collapsed into each other’s arms, despair, sadness and relief washing over them like the flood of undead corpses that had finally caught their prey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for the final instalment coming this Friday.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm a huge shit for leaving it like that, but I bet a lot of you are wondering what happened to Nuki, so here you go...

The puppy ran through the trees, trying to get away from the smell of rotten dead.

When he had first come face to face with the Not-lifes, Nuki had been too terrified to fight or even hide, but they had completely ignored him; just wandered on past as though he didn’t exist.

Once they had passed, he ran on.

Now, though, he stopped and thought. He felt scared, and ashamed; he had abandoned his pack, after all they had done for him, he had left them to deal with the Not-lifes on their own. He should go back.

Nuki turned and sprinted back the way he had come.

When he finally reached the den-place, panting heavily, there was no sight of his tall pack-mates. Nuki yapped to let them know he was back, but there was no answer. The den-place looked just as he’d left it, but everything was covered in the smell of Not-lifes. Nuki sniffed frantically around the side of the den, his ears pricking as he caught the traces of a scent; almost buried under the stench of Not-lifes was a distinct smell of Nuki’s pack-mates, faint but leading away into the trees in the opposite direction to where Nuki had just come from.

Nuki yapped, a small flame of hope rekindling in his chest, and took off after his pack-mates.

He followed the trail for a long time, well into the night, but Nuki never lost faith as the scent kept getting gradually stronger; his pack mates had been here more recently; he was going to find them soon.

Just as the Sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, the scent became so strong that Nuki felt as though there were no other smells in the world. He was so focused on the scent of his pack-mates that he had failed to notice the increasing stench of Not-lifes.

Until it became so overpowering that it covered the smell of his pack-mates.

Nuki was confused when the trail he was following abruptly came to a stop, and he crept forwards hesitantly, every sense alert for any Not-lifes. After a few yards, he emerged from the undergrowth into a clearing with a cliff on one side. The Not-lifes were nowhere to be seen, but the stench of blood filled Nuki’s nostrils like water, almost suffocating him as he recognised the traces of his pack-mates on the waves.

Nuki collapsed on the ground, a howl of despair escaping his chest before he could stop it. His _pack-mates_ were _Not-life_. He was _too late._

After a solid few minutes of crying, Nuki went limp and dropped his chin to the hard earth, all his energy gone. What was he without his pack-mates? How was he going to live without them? They had saved him and loved him, and now they were gone.

_Wait_.

Nuki looked up as a whisper passed his ears, glancing around the clearing for what had caused it.

_There_ ; next to the boulder, two faint figures glowing silver, standing on the air with their heads lolling against their chests. _His pack-mates_. Nuki’s tail thumped the ground slowly, and then picked up speed as he struggled to his paws. They weren’t gone, not yet; their spirits had not yet been taken.

Nuki yapped excitedly, and the figure on the left raised its head as he trotted across the clearing towards them.

“Nuki…?” Phil’s voice was echoey and tinged with confusion as he saw the puppy approaching, and a frown creased his brow as he looked down at his own glowing ‘body’. Then he looked over to his right and saw his boyfriend, and his expression softened.

“Dan?” he asked, and the spirit of the younger man raised his head.

“Woah,” Dan muttered, raising his arms and inspecting them before looking over at Phil. “Are we dead?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Phil murmured gently.

Dan nodded slowly. “Strange,” he muttered, “that I spent most of my life having existential crises, worrying about what would happen after I was dead, and now that I’m here, I don’t feel any of that.”

As the two spirits talked, Nuki came closer until he was standing right next to them. Phil smiled and bent down to stroke him, but his hand only ghosted over Nuki’s fur like an illusion. Nevertheless, the puppy leaned his head into Phil’s touch, showing that he could feel it even if Phil couldn’t. Phil wiped a tear from his eye and reached out a hand towards Dan. When his boyfriend took it, Phil felt a spark of joy that Dan still felt solid under his touch.

Dan crouched down next to him and rested his free hand on Nuki’s head next to Phil’s. Spheres of silver-blue spirit energy separated themselves from Dan and Phil and floated towards Nuki, merging into one and entering the puppy’s chest. Nuki sighed deeply, his eyes closed, and then looked at them with an intense expression of love.

Nuki watched as his pack-mates stood up again, their spirit energy humming gently in his chest and making him feel as light as a feather. Even as they smiled at him for the last time and crossed over into the next life, Nuki wasn’t sad.

They would never really say goodbye. He could survive, because they were still with him in his spirit.

With one last glance at the spot where Dan and Phil had last been, Nuki turned and headed back into the forest, his heart singing, his spirit strong, and his eyes fixed ahead on the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. That's it. I’m both relieved and upset that this is finished now. Upset because this was my first ever fanfiction and I had a lot of fun writing it, but relieved because now I don’t have to worry about it and I can focus on my other works.  
> I will have more Phanfics coming out soon; my next one is called ‘Black Hearts and Heroes’ and features superhero!Phil and supervillain!Dan.  
> Thank you so, so much to everyone who has taken the time to read, comment and/or give kudos; it really means the world to me. If you have any ideas for other fics you’d like me to write, my Tumblr inbox is always open @kyshipssolangelo.  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first fanfic, and I'm happy with the way it is turning out.  
> If you have any suggestions, message me on Tumblr @kyshipssolangelo  
> 


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